Annual Report on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 2013. Responsible Business Conduct in Action

The Guidelines are far-reaching recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises operating in or from adhering countries. They provide voluntary principles and standards for responsible business conduct in areas such as human rights, employment and industrial relations, environment, information disclosure, combating bribery, consumerinterests, science and technology, competition, and taxation.

The Guidelines were first adopted in 1976 as part of the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. They have been reviewed 5 times since then to ensure that they remain a leading tool to promote responsible business conduct in the changing landscape of the global economy. The most recent update took place in 2011.

The present report reviews the activities undertaken to promote the observance of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines) during the implementation cycle of June 2012-June 2013. After the May 2011 Update of the Guidelines and the subsequent 6 month period during which the National Contact Points (NCPs) integrated the revised provisions, the past year was the first full-fledged implementation year of the updated Guidelines.